Federal regulators should expand the number of available languages for emergency communications to mobile phones, New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said. 

James, leading a 16-member coalition of attorneys general, wants regulators at the Federal Communications Commission to expand language access for the government alerts sent to phones. 

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a machine translation application on cellphones meant to translate English emergency alerts into a user's preferred language without review by human translators. The coalition is concerned the translations may not be as reliable as human translations and currently includes translations for 13 languages. 

James' group believes at least 25 languages should be included in the translations for the communications known as Wireless Emergency Alerts.  

The mobile alerts have become increasingly common for authorities to warn people of potentially dangerous conditions. 

“In just the last few weeks, New Yorkers have been hammered by violent storms, flash flooding, and extreme heat, and receiving Wireless Emergency Alerts during these emergencies can be the difference between life and death,” she said. “The next severe weather event is a matter of when, not if. It is critical that this potentially lifesaving information be transmitted to the millions of New Yorkers — and Americans nationwide — who are not proficient in English. I applaud the steps FCC has taken thus far and urge them to expand language access even further to ensure no one is left behind.”

Immigrant communities, especially in polyglot New York, tend to have higher rates of limited proficiency in English. James wants the emergency alerts to be supported in all languages spoken by at least 300,000 people in the U.S.